As you hopefully know among our activities are ones oriented on social inclusion. We are very proud of them, but they are not the easiest to organise.
Social as the name suggests need people – international students, ESNers, other locals, etc. And as we are student non-profit organisation it all stands on volunteering. And that’s where it sometimes gets tough. In today’s world, we have so much to get done every day that when we find the extra time it’s usually the evening or weekend and everyone naturally tends to choose the activities they know will allow them to relax in an active way. And most of us have not realised the joy that these social-good activities bring. It’s hard breaking to see that we don’t know how impactful they are both on ourselves and the world around us simply because we never tried it before.
The above-mentioned tends to lead to the fact that everyone cheers for these events as we see them as great, but the support often ends with words that don’t transform into action.
Thankfully when our SI coordinator talks to teachers about Erasmus in Schools, to the manager of the centre for disabled people, or the manager of the hearing-impaired organisation, they are all excited someone has an interest in helping or getting educated, and they are eager to meet us.
The excitement often changes into stress right before the events are about to happen, and we hope we managed to inspire people to come and participate. The events, because of many reasons, often must happen in times when most are in school or work, and therefore numbers of those who are available are limited. We always hope that the information and excitement have reached these people. Those who come are always excited, and they wish they could stay a bit longer and carry great feelings with them for a long time.
For the majority of people, it can be challenging to see how these events can be fun, and why they should participate. And it’s not simple to explain. First of all, you’ll feel really good afterwards (believe it or not these selfless acts will make you feel great about yourself). You can get to know others that will be there, usually even better than on other social gatherings because this connects people by stronger memories and the delightful feeling we already mentioned. Also, you can learn so much from each other and see what you have not seen or do what you have not tried yet – like dig a hole to plant a tree or dress up as an angel to dance and laugh with kids (see for inspiration a video from such our event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRFBM2Bnryo).
We hope to see you there next time.
P.S. If you are a local student and you are passionate about helping others consider becoming our member. There’s never enough people who aim to make the world a better place.
